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History in the 1860s
 The following events occurred in the decade beginning in 1860. These are the events that shaped the world during the lives of your ancestors, both here in the United States and throughout the world. If you've ever wondered who your ancestors voted for, what their primary mode of transportation was, and how they received the news of their day — this may give you a clue.
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We update historical events on a regular basis, so check back on future visits!
- U.S. presidential election: Abraham Lincoln beats John C. Breckinridge, Stephen A. Douglas, and John Bell and is elected as the sixteenth President of the United States, the first Republican to hold that office (6 Nov 1860)
- Victor Emmanuel, King of Sardinia seizes the whole of the Papal States except Rome (see Vatican City) and unites Italy.
- President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington, DC after an assassination attempt in Baltimore, Maryland (23 Feb 1861)
- American Civil War begins at Fort Sumter, South Carolina (12 April 1861)
- First Battle of Bull Run - At Manassas Junction, Virginia, the first major battle of the American Civil War begins (Confederate victory)
(21 July 1861)
- U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act into law (20 May 1862)
- Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the second year of the American Civil War making slavery's abolition in the rebel states an official war goal (1 Jan 1863)
- United States President Abraham Lincoln is shot at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. by John Wilkes Booth, dies the following day (14 April 1865)
- The U.S. Congress eliminates the half dime coin and replaces it with the five cent piece, or nickel (16 May 1866)
- In a New York City theater, British author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States (2 Dec 1867)
- In New York City the Jolly Corks organization is renamed the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) (16 Feb 1868)
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